Bernie Masters is a geologist/zoologist who spent 8 years as a member of the Western Australian Parliament. Married to Carolina since 1976 and living in south west WA, Bernie is involved in many community groups. This blog offers insights into politics, the environment and other issues that annoy or interest him. For something completely different, visit www.fiatechnology.com.au for information about vegetated floating islands - the natural way to improve water quality.

Thursday, March 02, 2017

We must defend the legacy of the West

We must defend the legacy of the West

The
new movement to save the West from its enemies is so young it doesn’t
have a name. Its democratic core has been maligned by the Left in a
torrent of PC propaganda. The political Right, too, is wary of the
movement that has produced Brexit, Donald Trump and a raft of democratic
nationalist parties across the Western world. Republicans have declared
they are the true conservatives and excluded Trump from the category.
The Liberal Party has distanced itself from new Right leaders such as
Senator Pauline Hanson and Senator Cory Bernardi’s new Australian
Conservatives. So who are the true conservatives of the 21st century and
why does it matter?

The
starting point of Western civilisation gives conservatism a 2000-year
legacy. Such a legacy enriches the life of the mind and spirit while
fortifying the free world order. But it complicates politics when
citizens are not educated in the continuous Western tradition. In an age
dominated by sound bites, social media and a public keen to learn but
time poor, a central conservative challenge is to define clearly the
meaning of conservatism and why it matters.

There
is an abundance of literature on conservatism, but few clear
definitions. Among the works I have read on the meaning of modern
conservatism, three stand out for their philosophical breadth and
clarity. They are Russell Kirk’sThe Conservative Mind, Samuel Huntington’sThe Clash of Civilisations, and Roger Scruton’sThe West and the Rest. Daniel Mahoney’sThe Conservative Foundations of the Liberal Orderis instructive also.

The Conservative Mindsparked
the post-war conservative intellectual movement in America. In it, Kirk
provides a definition of conservatism that comprises four substantive
doctrines. The first conservative doctrine, “an affirmation of the moral
nature of society”, rests on the belief that virtue is the essence of
true happiness. The matter of virtue is family piety and public honour.
Their consequence is a life of dignity and order.

Kirk’s
second doctrine of conservatism is the defence of property. He defines
it as “property in the form of homes and pensions and corporate rights
and private enterprises; strict surveillance of the leviathan business
and the leviathan union”.

The
third conservative doctrine is the preservation of liberty, traditional
private rights and the division of power. The absence of this doctrine
facilitates the rise of Rousseau’s “general will”, made manifest in the
totalitarian state.

The
final doctrine of Kirk’s conservatism is “national humility”. Here,
Kirk defines the nation state as vital to the preservation of Western
civilisation. Politicians are urged to humble themselves in the light of
the Western tradition instead of indulging in cheap egoism by promoting
policies that buy them votes, but weaken the West.

English
philosopher Roger Scruton identifies the political, pre-political and
civil components of Western civilisation that sustain the free world.
They are rooted in the uniquely Western idea of citizenship, which is
influenced by Christianity. The core components of Western citizenship
are: the secular democratic state, secular and universal law, and a
single culture cohered by territorial jurisdiction and national loyalty.
Like Huntington, Scruton analyses the core foundations and animating
principles of Western civilisation in contrast to Islamic civilisation.

Conservatism
stands in contrast to both small “l” liberal and socialist ideas of
culture, society and state. Its central tenets are: moral virtue as the
path to happiness, supporting the natural family, promoting public order
and honour, private enterprise, political liberty, the secular state
and universal law. The central tenets of conservatism are sustained by a
single culture of citizenship that enables the flourishing of Western
civilisational values.

Conservatism
remains the only mainstream political tendency whose core objective is
the defence and flourishing of Western civilisation. In its federal
platform, the Liberal Party defines its liberal philosophy as: “A set of
democratic values based upon … the rights, freedoms and
responsibilities of all people as individuals.” There is no discussion
of Western civilisation or Western values. However, it shares with
conservatives the principles of limited government, respect for private
property, political liberty and the division of power. And conservative
prime ministers from Menzies to Howard and Abbott have led the defence
of Western civilisation in Australia against its greatest enemies:
socialists, communists and Islamists.

It
is on the questions of immigration, transnational trade and
supranational governance that the primary distinction between
conservatives and the new Right is drawn. For example, there is growing
tension fuelled by the belief that mass immigration, especially of
Muslims, constitutes a demographic revolution that threatens Western
values. Mainstream conservatives, including Cory Bernardi, reject the
idea of a ban on Muslim immigration. But it is clear that policy
resonates with many.

Last
year, an Essential Poll showed 49 per cent of Australians thought
Muslims should be blocked from the country. Chatham House has published
survey results that confirm a wide gap between the political class, the
media and the people on the question of Muslim immigration. Among 10,000
people polled across 10 European states, 55 per cent want migration
from Muslim countries stopped.

In
various polls, people cite the refusal to adopt Western values as a
core reason to cease immigration from Muslim states. The defence of
Western values is a core conservative position, but only the new Right
parties, including Hanson’s One Nation, propose a ban on Muslim
immigration.

I
have tried to define conservatism by standing on the shoulders of
giants and offering some clarity for people tired of hollow words from
hollow men. The task of definition is urgent. Unless a well-defined,
muscular conservatism emerges, the best of Western civilisation will not
survive the 21st century.